Liam - Finished and Just About Ruined

I am sick to my stomach after taking this sweater out of the dryer. It's Liam from Debbie Bliss Kids Knits, and it's about a month and a half's worth of work. Ruined. Almost. I used Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, because, being a kid's sweater I wanted it to be wash and wear, but not as warm as superwash wool would be. Boy am I disappointed. See how the black faded over the white? It's now a black and GRAY sweater. See how badly it pilled all over? It's going to take some serious time with a sweater shaver to remove those. OH, and it's a Christmas present, so I don't have another MONTH AND A HALF to donate. I will post another picture of it after it's depilled, I'm still determined to save it since it's for Christmas. It's for my son, so he won't mind it being black and gray, at least the design still shows up.